Step Thirteen, Share the Moments
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 852a: With Santana there to look after her, Brittany feels something new and startling. - Paper Heart series


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 40th cycle. Now cycle 41!_

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><p><em><strong>INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - <strong>If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
>Go to: <span>gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet<span>_

_** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 41 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about **shift days**, starting in cycle 41!_

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><p><em><strong>This is a shift day [see above].<strong> There will be another upload this afternoon: Flying Solo, chapter 5._

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><p><strong>"Step Thirteen, Share The Moments"<br>Santana/Brittany & Kurt  
>Paper Heart series #14 (following 'Step Twelve...') <strong>

Brittany didn't want Kurt to worry about her, especially now that everyone knew about his impending fatherhood. As expected, the entire thing had been the fodder to a whole new mess of teasing and troubling. Kurt had no intention of letting it get to him, but it didn't mean he needed something more to get concerned with. Besides, to her, it wasn't too big of a deal; that was what she'd told Santana, when she'd confided in her.

She would take naps, when she came home from school, always felt better after. Except now her 'nothing of a belly' had evolved into a roundness she protected at all times. Nights didn't seem to be a problem, oddly enough, but then when it came to her naps, she was scared she'd roll on her stomach and crush the baby. Santana tried to tell her it wouldn't happen, but when she saw all this had caused was for Brittany to stop napping – which as it turned out left her cranky – she'd offered a simple solution. Santana would stay with her and make sure nothing went wrong. It had started off that all she'd do would be to sit on the ground, within sight, within reach… She'd watch her sleep, and as far as the blonde knew she would do it only because she'd asked. Santana still knew no better way to show her support, her love, than to be there for her. So she'd sit, and she'd wait, and she'd watch.

One day though, she'd been watching, and she'd started seeing her… twitch… She'd seen it before, she knew it was a dream, a nightmare creeping toward her. "Hey, hey… it's alright," she'd hushed, reaching for her hand in hopes of calming her. It had worked, for a few minutes, and then it only got worse. For fear that she would in fact roll over, Santana had gotten up, still holding to her hand, and quickly manoeuvred to position herself laying down on the bed and aligning herself behind the restless girl, keeping her close. After a moment she'd known what to do, what Brittany needed to know to calm down. "Hey, he's okay," she whispered in her ear, guiding her hand to rest on her belly. "He's okay," she promised, keeping the blonde's hand in place. It only took seconds, and her face softened, her body relaxed… She was at peace again. Santana breathed out in relief, waiting a moment, and now she could see how they were rested, how Brittany, in her sleep, still looked to know she was there with her. And she felt everything that rested under her right hand… Brittany's right hand, and then…

At first, she'd been… she didn't want to say 'scared,' that wasn't it, but she'd resist touching her belly, like it wasn't her right. It was silly, she'd touched other women's pregnant stomachs before, aunts, family friends, Quinn… So what was it that held her back here? Eventually she'd gotten over it, or at least she was made to get over it, when Brittany had felt flutters of movement and she'd pulled Santana's hand to feel… She still remembered how it had felt.

Now lying here as a comforter to the blonde in her nap, Santana almost dared herself, her hand climbing down off Brittany's to come and rest next to it, over the belly… It was crazy how fast things were going, already months into this pregnancy. It seemed like yesterday that Brittany had told her, in that ice cream shop. But things were progressing, and before long he would be here… Brittany's baby, Kurt's baby…

When Brittany woke up, she quickly realized Santana was there, with her, and she smiled, moving her hand over Santana's, sandwiching it there. She thanked her, and from then on, that was always how it was, day after day, with Santana lying at Brittany's back, her arm around her, and then she could sleep.

This day was like any other. Sometimes Santana tried to sleep, too, because what else was she going to do? She'd try, then either succeeded or failed. If she didn't even try, then she'd stay quiet. If she tried and failed, then she'd find herself… halfway between humming and singing, like she was trying to put herself to sleep. That day, she had failed to sleep, her hand resting a graze away from Brittany's both right hands over the bump.

She'd swear that it had come right at her hand, or pretty close… Either way, it startled her, just as it jerked Brittany awake and her whole body seemed to lunge, would have succeeded if Santana wasn't there to hold her back. "Danger! Danger!" Brittany's voice shot out, and Santana knew she wasn't properly awake, still struggling in confusion.

"Britt! Brittany, hey, calm down," she sat up, looking down, still trying to process what had just happened, trying to remain level-headed while the blonde freaked.

"Something's wrong, something…" She whimpered, her face flush with deaf panic. Santana put her hand back where she'd felt what she'd felt, while Brittany's words only lost coherence. When it happened a third time, Brittany whimpered again, cringing, but Santana's eyes grew wide and she felt her heart speed up, on the polar opposite of Brittany, emotions wise.

"Britt, Britt, listen, stop!" she stopped her arms flailing. Brittany stopped, though her face and her breathing were still distressed. "Everything's fine, just think about it for a second." One hand holding one of hers, the other holding her other, Santana made her feel for it, nodding slowly for her to stay calm as they waited, and then it came again. She watched the panicked face find understanding, her fears expelled with a breath.

"He kicked…" she spoke, voice hoarse from her cries, but now the worst was past, and she began to smile, looking down at herself. "Hi…" she beamed.

Santana got up, grabbing her phone and dialling. "Hey… Nothing's wrong, just haul ass over to Brittany's," she said no more, just hung up… Better it be a surprise.

Four and a half minutes later, there was rapid knocking at the door downstairs. Santana had gone to answer and found a red-faced and sweating Kurt, panting for her. "What… is… the matter… with you?" he held on to the door frame.

"Just go, upstairs," she pointed up and she watched him dash toward Brittany's room… She'd stay downstairs, leave them on their own.

When Kurt got up to the second floor, still trying to breathe, he found Brittany sitting up on her bed. She saw him and blinked. "What happened to you?"

"Santana happened," was all he'd say on the matter. She looked okay, but he still had to hear it. "Are you okay?"

"Come here," she patted the space next to her on the bed. When he sat, after the exertion, his legs felt like flaming jelly, like much of his body.

"What's going on?" he asked. Much like Santana had done, she'd grabbed his hands and rested them on her belly. He didn't need much more to grasp what was about to happen. Nothing was happening, a minute and another… "Are you sure you didn't just have a…" But then there it was… a kick, even two.

"See?" she grinned. "Say something," she nodded down. He blinked back tears.

"Hi… in there, I…" he breathed. "I'm your dad…"

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******


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